The Blue Virgin

by Marni Graff

  With this kind of pedigree, it’s easy to see why I took great care to be accurate in describing Oxford’s history and the colleges, as well as various locations and sites. The exceptions to this beside my cast of characters are the fictionalized buildings containing my characters’ flats, Ramsey Lodge, the undercroft where The Artists’ Co-operative resides, and the photo studio of Miles Belcher.

  Any errors are completely my own.

  Acknowledgments

  I offer my sincere thanks to the following people for sharing their expertise, advice, reading, commentary, or support, in no particular order:

  In the United Kingdom: Chief Superintendent Jim Trotman, Thames Valley Police; Dr. James Morris, Medical Director, Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, NHS Trust; P. D. James, London; Dr. Catherine Peters, Somerville College (ret.), Oxford University; Dr. Sandie Byrne, Director, Department for Continuing Education, Oxford University; Susan and Michael Ross, The Old Vicarage, Chipping Norton; Averil and Martin Freeth, Chiswick.

  In the United States: Mitchell S. Waters, Curtis Brown, Ltd.; Donna Brodie, Director, The Writers Room; The Oxford Wycked Wyves: K. T. Brill and Dr. Susan Todd; The Oxford Circus: Toni Amato, Alice King Case, Liz Jones, Sam Sartorius; Dr. ClayWarren; Robin Casey; Barbara Davey; Dr. Barbara Ebel; Laura Hamilton; Anne Jacobs; Gretta Keene; Bill Murray; Joan Lautman; Rita Quinton; Sarah Ogden; Gail Schaeffer; Eileen Simmons; Dr. Rachel McCarter; and Kylis Winborne.

  This book would not have been written without the work-shopping skills and advocacy of the Screw Iowa! Writers Group: Mariana Damon, Nina Romano, Lauren Small and Melissa Westemeier. And to Bridle Path Press, thanks for taking the leap, Lauren.

  To Giordana Segneri, heartfelt thanks for your masterful work designing and editing this book into print. You’ve made me a better writer along the way.

  My family and friends in North Carolina and New York have been stalwart backers, especially The Minnesota Graffs: Jenn and Rob, Ryan, Rachel, Ella, and Kevin, who always make me smile; The New York Graffs: Kimberly and Matthew, who also proofed text for hours; Sean C. Burk, the best thing I’ve ever produced, for unfailing encouragement; Arthur L. Graff, my rock and sounding board, for helping this to happen in the first place. Finally, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my mother, Kathleen M. Travia, for teaching me to read and instilling in me her love of literature.

  About the Author

  M. K. Graff is the author of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. She wrote throughout a successful nursing career, including feature articles for New York’s edition of Nursing Spectrum; her background includes working in television and motion pictures on scripts and on set for medical scenes. For seven years Graff conducted interviews and wrote feature articles for Mystery Review magazine before studying literature at Oxford University, which inspired the setting for The Blue Virgin. She has taught creative writing and memoir and heads the North Carolina Writers Read workshop for adults and young authors. A founding member of the Screw Iowa! Writers Group, Graff is co-author of the group’s guide for writers, The End of the Book: Writing in a Changing World. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, and her creative nonfiction has most recently appeared in Southern Women’s Review. The Blue Virgin is Graff’s first novel.

  M. K. Graff in her home library